


CODENAME: Blue Phantom

by Selverna



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-27
Updated: 2018-05-02
Packaged: 2019-04-28 14:55:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14451681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selverna/pseuds/Selverna
Summary: Lost into the streets with no food or shelter, an orphan was adopted into an agency to be with the intent of becoming their chess piece. Given the name "Felix Asther," he was raised in order to become an agent meant to serve without question.After having undergone and surviving something known as "The Implementation" along with other agent candidates as one of the few survivors, Felix had become a weapon, an agent, a murderer, and a phantom.An agent meant to embody destruction, desperately tries reaching for another goal.





	1. A Blinding Contrast

**Author's Note:**

> (I'm new to writing, so I'm trying my best to literally not make a ripoff of everything I'm inspired by.)

When I looked at him, the boy who reached for his freedom became a corpse in an instant. His blood splattered long before my eyes could follow the invisible line that put a hole in his head.

The bullet echoed in my mind as the gun clapped before the ‘ _Implementation’_ could even begin. My legs gave up on me the moment it happened and the scent of gunpowder made me shiver

He became frightening example that made us realize that none of us had a choice in this. It was a wake-up call for me, and for the rest of us. One that showed us how cold this world truly was.

One of the few things I could remember during the Implementation was my name “Felix Asther.” It was a memento before I lost my memories of that day.

Before all of this, I was an orphan trying to live off whatever I could get my hands on, until I was taken into the agency.

That was the day that many of us were introduced to our new ‘home.’                                                      
The Golden Lion Agency.

From that day forth, we all began training. The agency trained us to fight, to battle, and to kill. I thought that we were going to be part of the navy to become dogs of the military. But our case was a little different. We were molded to become agents. Not to serve, but to become weapons that brought ruin.

Every day, they provided us with sustenance. Things we could barely call food, specifically made to make us stronger.

When the Sun reached its peak, we would all go out to train in the fields for combat training, involving hand to hand combat or with wooden knives or staffs. We would continue to spar until dust started memorizing our footwork. And when it set, we would return back to recover from the fatigue. Afterwards, we would return to our studies.

The education they provided us was primarily focused on geography, politics, and survival. Most of the time, many of us passed out due to exhaustion.

Many of us became strong physically, but for those who couldn’t keep up with the intense training… they were used in other aspects. Whether they would become good at technology or if they became a personal servant, they were all given a role to play.

They told us, under the red banner of their gold color gate, that we would be the “pioneers of a new era.” And that we would “bring about a new world.” They were preparing us for something that would eventually bring them ruin.

I doubted everything they told us, and I don’t think any of us were brought here willingly. Nor did I think any of us actually knew what was going on. As for the children who attempted to escape, well… _I can’t say they had a happy ending._

There was no time for self-indulgence, or relationships eventually stagnated. Perhaps I was just never the type to interact.

It wasn’t exactly a luxurious life, but I would assume it was better than eating leftovers from garbage in the streets and eventually rotting away. Or at least, that was what I initially thought…

When four years had passed and I turned 12 years old, all of the children were separated into two groups. Those who couldn’t handle the training were weeded out, deemed unfit, and were sanctioned elsewhere. And those of us who remained were dubbed, as the agency put it, “the worthy.”

Brought into a small facility in the middle of a rundown town, something menacing saturated the air. There were about twenty of us, but they weren’t any of the trainees I was familiar with, nor do I think anyone knew the other.

We were all sent here for something the agency referred to as “The Implementation.”

When the hatch opened, we were greeted by a chilling gust. We all saw two rooms, one that was pitch black that we were about to enter, and one that had a blinding light.

I wanted to go back to the base, or to run away…                 

Alongside of us was a child that tried to escape. Loosening the grip of his carrier by biting their arm, he made a break for it—

But it was short-lived.

When he made it outside, he frantically tried to squeeze through a narrow alley between the buildings. Before he could slip out completely, he was stuck between its tight space.

A clean shot was taken, and the body continued to stand stuck between the thin narrow space. The blood that splattered between the buildings spelled out a clear lesson to us.

A lesson that all of us were disposable, and that disobedience would not be tolerated.

I fell to my knees with a deep churning in my stomach as something pushed its way up my throat.

Fully realizing just how twisted the situation was, the rest entered into the room without a struggle. While I and a few others were dragged into the room as we were too weak to stand up.

Forced to accept the cold greeting, the agents put us all into individual cages. The agents left quickly after locking us all up, leaving us all in utter darkness.

A single sliver of bright light came from the room in front of us. It looked like an operations room, but the contrast between the stream of light was blinding in the darkness we were all kept in.

I wanted to cry. I wanted to run, but the breaths I intended to cry with became squeaks in the frozen air.

When they finished preparing, they unlocked one of the cages and took one of the children into the operations room.

The moment the door of the operations room shut, whispers amongst the other children started to fill the room. Whether I was overcome by the fear of what was going to happen or my inability to properly socialize with my peers, I wasn’t able to open my mouth.

After a few minutes, the one who was taken into the room was brought out.

He was shaking as he was carried out. We all caught a quick glance as the door lit the room for a brief moment… his face was covered with blood, and his eyes had no focus. As if he was already… gone.

All of us became afraid and started to panic. The whispers turned into weeping, but I wasn’t even able to cry. The shock what I saw made me unable to move, much less speak.

The next one tried to struggle his way out of the grip of the scientist that grabbed him. He bit and clawed at the arm that dragged him. But even combat training we received before all of this meant nothing when our body was paralyzed with fear.

But it was different after he entered. The absolute silence of the first one became screams and cries of pain for the second. The light from the operations room started to flicker, turning red. We heard an explosion, accompanied by the sound of something… splatter.

My breathing quickly became heavier and colder the longer this went.

The scientist spoke from the operations room, and the child who was taken was no longer brought out.  
“Another failure.”

We all heard his words, but whatever that meant didn’t process at the time. The only thoughts that processed in my mind were the ones that wanted to live or to escape.

“What do you think they’re talking about?”  
A whisper called out to me from the cage beside me, breaking the frightening silence.

“A-ah…” I struggled to speak. With what little light we had, I saw a happy smile of a boy who looked my age.

After a brief pause, the boy spoke again. I couldn’t tell whether they were brave or insane.

“S-so, what’s your name?”                                
Even with the cheery smile that I saw, the voice stuttered to speak.

“It’s… It’s 201… M-my designation that is.”   
I answered with a husky, scared manner

 “I asked for your name, silly. Not your designation.”   
To try and hold a conversation in a situation like this, I was sure this boy has lost it.

“I don’t… have one.”   
I don’t think any of us had one. We were all just… taken in.

The next one followed, repeating the same pattern as from the first one, followed by the next. This cycle that varied between silence and chaos carried on for the next hour.

“L-let’s see… um, why not Felix? It sounds fun, right?”  
I think the voice continued to speak to me to keep his own sanity from falling apart.

“H-huh? Wh—”

“Felix… What if that was your name now? It just popped out of my head…”

“F-Felix?”  
The conversation the two of us were holding was outlived after shrieks of agony echoed from the other room.

Listening to the horrified cries of the others silenced both of our voices, and the shivers on my back and the pounding on my chest continued became worse as it went on. We were no longer able to speak.

Many tried to break free, while others lost hope and got dragged along.

Most of the children weren’t even brought outside of the operation room anymore. Eventually, only the two of us remained. The one that spoke to me was the one taken in first.

All I could do was sit there and watched him struggle as he got dragged into the operations room.

For a brief second, when the door opened and the room was lit, I saw him. He had golden hair and dark eyes. That was the last sight I saw before the door shut.

The fear he had in his eyes were the same as mine, but he entered the room with a nervous and excited smile.

Suddenly, the echoes of voices shouting filled the room.  
“You took the wrong—!”

“That was an experimental stage! You fool! You were only meant to—”  
The building shook as the lights started flickering.

An explosion took place. Shards of glass burst out from the operations room. The ceiling broke apart and crash on the cage I was in. The rubble gave me an exit became the thing that kept me in place. The sight of my own blood as the debris crushed my foot made me sick to my stomach.

The child who entered before me came out of the room, inside something I could best describe as a sphere of bright red fire with glowing bright eyes of gold. He paused and looked at his hands with a shaky smile, then cried out in agony as he ran away.

He ran through the walls, and the walls collapsed and disintegrated as soon as it came in contact with the sphere.

After the building shook, he vanished and the surroundings grew quiet. No voices, no screams, nothing. I tried to crawl my way out, but the pain of my crushed leg made it unbearable to move. After a few minutes, the rubble in the operations moved shifted, as if it slipped off of something. When I looked ahead of me, I couldn’t handle what I saw.

In front of me lied the pile of corpses of the other children. Each of them torn apart and twisted in a horrific way.  
That image burned into my mind.

It petrified me. But hell wasn’t over yet.


	2. Birth of a Phantom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After 201's life was dragged through a layer of hell, an announcement was to be made.  
> That a monster was born, and that his name was Felix.

When I looked at him, the boy who reached for his freedom became a corpse in an instant. His blood splattered long before my eyes could follow the invisible line that put a hole in his head.

The bullet echoed in my mind as the gun clapped before the ‘ _Implementation’_ could even begin. My legs gave up on me the moment it happened and the scent of gunpowder made me shiver.

He became a frightening example that made us realize that none of us had a choice in this. It was a wake-up call for me, and for the rest of us. One that showed us how cold this world truly was.

One of the few things I could remember during the Implementation was my name “Felix Asther.” It was a memento before I lost my memories of that day.

Before all of this, I was an orphan trying to live off whatever I could get my hands on, until I was taken into the agency.

That was the day that many of us were introduced to our new ‘home.’                                                      
The Golden Lion Agency.

From that day forth, we all began training. The agency trained us to fight, to battle, and to kill. I thought that we were going to be part of the navy to become dogs of the military. But our case was a little different. We were molded to become agents. Not to serve, but to become weapons that brought ruin.

Every day, they provided us with sustenance. Things we could barely call food, specifically made to make us stronger.

When the Sun reached its peak, we would all go out to train in the fields for combat training, involving hand to hand combat or with wooden knives or staffs. We would continue to spar until dust started memorizing our footwork. And when it set, we would return back to recover from the fatigue. Afterwards, we would return to our studies.

The education they provided us was primarily focused on geography, politics, and survival. Most of the time, many of us passed out due to exhaustion.

Many of us became strong physically, but for those who couldn’t keep up with the intense training… they were used in other aspects. Whether they would become good at technology or if they became a personal servant, they were all given a role to play.

They told us, under the red banner of their gold color gate, that we would be the “pioneers of a new era.” And that we would “bring about a new world.” They were preparing us for something that would eventually bring them ruin.

I doubted everything they told us, and I don’t think any of us were brought here willingly. Nor did I think any of us actually knew what was going on. As for the children who attempted to escape, well… _I can’t say they had a happy ending._

There was no time for self-indulgence, or relationships eventually stagnated. Perhaps I was just never the type to interact.

It wasn’t exactly a luxurious life, but I would assume it was better than eating leftovers from garbage in the streets and eventually rotting away. Or at least, that was what I initially thought…

When four years had passed and I turned 12 years old, all of the children were separated into two groups. Those who couldn’t handle the training were weeded out, deemed unfit, and were sanctioned elsewhere. And those of us who remained were dubbed, as the agency put it, “the worthy.”

Brought into a small facility in the middle of a rundown town, something menacing saturated the air. There were about twenty of us, but they weren’t any of the trainees I was familiar with, nor do I think anyone knew the other.

We were all sent here for something the agency referred to as “The Implementation.”

When the hatch opened, we were greeted by a chilling gust. We all saw two rooms, one that was pitch black that we were about to enter, and one that had a blinding light.

I wanted to go back to the base, or to run away…                 

Alongside of us was a child that tried to escape. Loosening the grip of his carrier by biting their arm, he made a break for it—

But it was short-lived.

When he made it outside of the gates of the facility, he frantically tried to squeeze through a narrow alley between the buildings. Before he could slip out completely, he was stuck between its tight space.

A clean shot was taken, and the body continued to stand stuck between the thin narrow space. The blood that splattered between the buildings spelled out a clear lesson to us.

A lesson that all of us were disposable, and that disobedience would not be tolerated.

I fell to my knees with a deep churning in my stomach as something pushed its way up my throat.

Fully realizing just how twisted the situation was, the rest entered into the room without a struggle. While I and a few others were dragged into the room as we were too weak to stand up.

Forced to accept the cold greeting, the agents put us all into individual cages. The agents left quickly after locking us all up, leaving us all in utter darkness.

A single sliver of bright light came from the room in front of us. It looked like an operations room, but the contrast between the stream of light was blinding in the darkness we were all kept in. All we could hear were the sharp sounds of metal tools clanking together.

I wanted to cry. I wanted to run, but my breaths became nothing more than squeaks in the frozen air.

When they finished preparing, they unlocked one of the cages and took one of the children into the operations room.

The moment the door of the operations room shut, whispers amongst the other children started to fill the room. Whether I was overcome by the fear of what was going to happen or my inability to properly socialize with my peers, I wasn’t able to open my mouth.

After a few minutes, the one who was taken into the room was brought out.

He was shaking as he was carried out. We all caught a quick glance as the door lit the room for a brief moment… his face was covered with blood, and his eyes had no focus. As if he was already… gone.

All of us became afraid and started to panic. The whispers turned into weeping, but I wasn’t even able to cry. The shock what I saw made me unable to move, much less speak.

The next one tried to struggle his way out of the grip of the scientist that grabbed him. He bit and clawed at the arm that dragged him. But even combat training we received before all of this meant nothing when our body was paralyzed with fear.

But it was different after he entered. The absolute silence of the first one became screams and cries of pain for the second. The light from the operations room started to flicker, turning red. We heard an explosion, accompanied by the sound of something… splatter.

My breathing quickly became heavier and colder the longer this went.

The scientist spoke from the operations room, and the child who was taken was no longer brought out.

“Another failure.” He said in a cold manner.

We all heard his words, but whatever that meant didn’t process at the time. The only thoughts that processed in my mind were the ones that wanted to live or to escape.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” A whisper called out to me from the cage beside me, breaking the frightening silence.

“A-ah…” I stammered.

The voice sounded like a boy my age, but I really couldn’t tell. Nor could I tell whether they were brave or insane, trying to make a conversation in the situation we were in. But with what little light we had available to us, I saw a happy smile of another child.

“S-so, what’s your name?”  In spite of the cheery tone he tried to speak with, the voice stuttered to speak.

“It’s… It’s 201… M-my designation that is.” My response was husky, I couldn’t do anything about it.

 “I asked for your name, silly. Not your designation.” To try and introduce yourself in this kind of situation, perhaps this person already lost it.

“I don’t… have one.”  I don’t think any of us had one. We were all just… _taken in_.

The next one followed, repeating the same pattern as from the first one, followed by the next. This cycle that varied between silence and chaos carried on for the next hour.

“L-let’s see… um, why not Felix? It sounds fun, right?”  
I think the voice continued to speak to me to keep his own sanity from falling apart.

“H-huh? Wh—”

“Felix… What if that was your name now? It just popped out of my head…”

“F-Felix?” The conversation the two of us were holding was outlived after shrieks of agony echoed from the other room.

Listening to the horrified cries of the others made the two of us fall silent, and the shivers on my back and the pounding on my chest continued became worse as it went on. Even the other child was no longer able to muster their voice.

Many tried to break free, while others lost hope and got dragged along.

Most of the children weren’t even brought outside of the operation room anymore. The cycle continued until it was only the two of us that remained.

The cage opened, but all I could do was sit there and watched him struggle as he got dragged into the operations room.

For a brief second, when the door opened and the room was lit, I saw him. He had golden hair and dark eyes. That was the last sight I saw before the door shut.

The fear he had in his eyes were the same as mine, but he entered the room with a nervous and excited smile.

Suddenly, the echoes of voices shouting filled the room.  
“You took the wrong—!”

“That was an experimental stage! You fool! You were only meant to—”  
The building shook as the lights started flickering.

An explosion took place. Shards of glass burst out from the operations room. The ceiling broke apart and crash on the cage I was in. The rubble gave me an exit became the thing that kept me in place. The sight of my own blood as the debris crushed my foot made me sick to my stomach.

The child who entered before me came out of the room, inside something I could best describe as a sphere of bright red fire with glowing bright eyes of gold. He paused and looked at his hands with a shaky smile, then cried out in agony as he ran away.

He ran through the walls, and the walls collapsed and disintegrated as soon as it came in contact with the sphere.

After the building shook, he vanished and the surroundings grew quiet. No voices, no screams, nothing. I tried to crawl my way out, but the pain of my crushed leg made it unbearable to move. After a few minutes, the rubble in the operations moved shifted, as if it slipped off of something. When I looked ahead of me, I couldn’t handle what I saw.

In front of me lied the pile of corpses of the other children. Each of them twisted and curled.  
That image burned into my mind.

It petrified me. But hell wasn’t over yet.

I was snapped out of the trance by the sound of someone grunting in pain. The dust from the rubble was settling, as one of the scientists grabbed his knee as he pushed himself to stand up.

“No! No, no, no, no!”  
He cried out coughing with a stream of blood and glanced at the surroundings. His lab coat tattered and covered with dust and blood.

“ _cough,_ P-professor Tetsuya…”

“You! This is all _YOUR_ fault! Look at what you’ve done! My life’s work, _ruined!_ ”  
The man shouted as he lifted the other scientist by the collar, shakily holding his fist behind.

Before landing a blow, the man pleaded.                                    

“P-professor, th-there is still one last tube over there.”  
Frightened, he pointed into the rubble trying to avert his attention.

The man looked to where the other was pointing to, where he saw the cracked glass under the rubble.  
“That is, they mixed… Both stage four and five… have merged…”

“M-maybe you could use it to make more… You could synthesize them and—”  
The other man pleaded, as I watched in the darkness through the hole made in the wall.

“Synthesize? Make more?! You ignorant fool! That substance was a miracle to come by! Trying to recreate it was…”  
He stopped and he removed his grip on the other professor the moment he turned to me.   
His expression turned blank when our eyes met, mesmerized by the opportunity that been bestowed upon him.

“Maybe” The professor walked towards me in spite of the flames and scattering dust and rubble. He grabbed my arm, and dragged me out from the rubble.

His eyes weren’t full of anger or hate, they were filled with anguish mixed with desperation. It was the face of someone who had lost it all, struggling to cling onto the remains. But I was too young to comprehend this, or anything he meant at the time.

Fear paralyzed me, to the point where I was unable to put up a struggle. My body felt as if it was locked in place.

He took a syringe and extracted the remaining liquid from the table that had been covered in broken glass.

“The last one could have been… but he... You. _May you be the fruitage of all my endeavors_! _My prosperity, my charity_ ”  
He said looking into the sky, where the ceiling had crumbled, injecting into me the blue liquid he extracted  
“May you be my perfect creation.”

After that, all I could feel was the pain of my head inflating.

My body became hot all of the sudden, like I was thrown into a boiling pot head first.

My thoughts quickly turned blank, and my heart rushed more than my mind could handle. My head felt like it was going to burst any second… it felt like it did. The only thought that remained was that I wanted to live.

It felt like my entire being was set on fire from the inside, as if sparks and electrical currents ravaging through my flesh, tearing away inside me, desperately looking for a way out. It made me feel like I was melting, like I was slowly becoming nothing.

From the sparks that came out of me brought a blue flash.

Then all that remained was a constant ringing in my ears.

After that, the only thing I could muster was the memory of being rushed by a medical staff. I couldn’t even remember hearing my screams, but without a doubt, the agony I cried out was real. It had all become a blur.

The only thing left was the panic and a sense of guilt that I carried in my chest.

When I woke up, I was at the agency, in my room.

It was evening when I awoke and a cold sweat dripped from my face as I gasped for air.

I stood up from my bed, I felt an intense headache. But my body felt light, lighter than it ever felt. I remember my leg was crushed, and yet… Despite this recovery, my exhaustion still weighed me down.

I felt so angry, and so conflicted. But I’ve forgotten almost everything that happened on that day. I went to the washroom to clear my head.

Dipping my face in the cold water and taking a deep breath. When I looked in the mirror, something strange was going on. My right eye… was _shifting_.

It was changing from brown to a glowing blue.                                                                                    
I stared at it for a few seconds, not knowing what I was supposed to do. One of my eyes was changing. I didn’t know what this meant, but I didn’t know what to do with it. It was still my eye after all.

I had a moment of rest. The water rushed from the faucet as I continued to stare at my new eye. Moments later, after I washed my face, I heard a knock on my door asking if I felt better.

As I responded, I was summoned to the hall moments after I woke up.

As I entered the hall, I saw both my peers, and a number of officials I have never seen before.

I stood at the center of the stage, holding a microphone. The weight on my body faded, but it changed to anxiety. All of them were staring at me with longing expectations, along with the other kids. I didn’t know what was going on.

So I clenched onto the mic, took a deep breath and spoke  
“I have… no idea what’s going on.”  
I’m well aware that it wasn’t the wisest decision, but I couldn’t think straight with all those eyes staring at me. What else could I have said, being unaware of the situation.

“This is the one. The only successful project of Doctor Tetsuya to ever make it beyond the fourth level! We are coming closer to creating a new world!”   
The speakers boomed loudly as the man spoke, followed by flurry voices in the background that questioned me  
“This child is the first successful experiment to make it into stage four!”

 _“Stage four?”  
_ Curious, I asked, lowering the mic

“Indeed, you are the first one who ever made it into stage four during the implementation. Ladies and gentlemen, your kind funding has yielded great results! Not only has it created many amazing agents, but it has brought to us the miracle that is this child, the one known as 201.”

He announced, as he grabbed my hand and raised it to the audience. The room echoed with applause and cameras shuttered in the room.

He lowered his arms as he held my face endearingly, and said to me  
“You are… his greatest achievement.”

I gestured him to give me the mic, I wanted to announce one of the few memories that weren’t wiped out of me. I was supposed to express my despair, my rage, my confliction. But something else slipped out of my lips.

“Felix… My name is Felix.”  
It wasn’t clear to me how I responded the way I did, but it felt like it was more important.

“I see! I apologize. Ladies and gentleman, he has announced that his name is Felix!”  
With his announcement came a short-lived applause. At least I wasn’t stepping out of line.

“What happened to me… what… happened to the professor? How long was I out?”  
I asked curiously, because everything that happened on that day became a blur to me. I could only remember so much, but…That day was full of pain for everyone involved.

“He’s still recovering from the incident that day. He still has yet to wake up. As for you, you’ve been asleep for three weeks, and it seems you have reached the fourth stage without any complications!”  
I couldn’t stop myself from clenching my fists the second he uttered those words, but I did my best to maintain my composure. _Without any complications, huh? Tell that to everyone who died that day._

“You keep saying ‘ _fourth stage’,_ what does that mean?”

“The drug he injected into you, remember? That drug will bring out great things from you. It will enhance all of your natural abilities greatly, and make you grow and adapt faster than everyone else. You will be more than just a man, you will reach the land of the gods!”  
He commented with a proud tone. _How many lives do you think were taken that day? Why was I allowed to survive?_

“So… it’s a steroid?”  
I questioned skeptically, unamused at the compliments he threw at me.

“No, weren’t you educated sufficiently? Professor Tetsuya would be insulted if you referred to it as such. He claimed it was much, much greater. Like a gift from the stars. And you, were brought here from the heavens. You are the child of the stars. A superhuman!”  
He mocked me, then sung my praises, along with the professor and his discoveries.

Although I didn’t care to listen to what he said after the word _superhuman._ None of his responses answered my questions anyway. All I knew was that I was still a weapon, and that I was still made to complete my orders without question.

My expression stayed calm for some reason … I felt empty. I didn’t know whether I should be scared, or angry, or both. I didn’t know how to put this… I didn’t know how to express this sense of damage. Not in words anyway, but...  I should’ve been feeling... _something_.

“ _Superhuman_ , huh? I don’t feel so _super_.”  
Felix said, with a shaken sigh. After having gone through hell, super is the last thing I felt.

Most of my memories on that day was a blur, but I do remember the image of all the children who didn’t deserve to die. I remembered his face. If the agency didn’t take me in, I would probably be dead in the streets. But there are these conflicting emotions that I can’t describe.

My training shortly resumed after this, but despite my three week long slumber. I didn’t know I had to take up arms soon, and soon enough, my finger would recognize the feeling of pulling the trigger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is something known as "The Implementation"  
> Basically a super soldier project, except... illegal.
> 
> There are four stages to the serum injected in Felix  
> Stage one enhances all physical abilities.  
> Stage two enhances all physical abilities except further and gives inhumane reflexes.... and... other spoilers.  
> Stage three is still in the testing stage.  
> And stage four basically gives plot armor for the main character.


	3. Learning How to Kill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His fingers shuddered with fright and excitement, but something else took over.  
> A blue light made an altered path, ensuring death.

Ever since then, my training became much, much worse. My combat training became harsher, and changed from basic defense and offense, into different fighting styles and martial arts. It wasn’t long till I changed from knives and staffs, to guns.

In the span of five years, I’ve mastered things that are normally expected to be mastered in an entire lifetime. But I guess ‘normal’ no longer applies to me.

As for my studies, it exponentially increased with each passing week, to the point where me passing out had become a normal occurrence amongst my assessors and comrades.

Funny thing is, despite this, I was punished much less for my failures than I used to be.

All of my studies and training were surveyed to see how far my I’ve progressed and how much further I could progress. They had high expectations of the prodigy that was Doctor Tetsuya’s masterpiece.

The year after, they’d begun sending out in the field in order to hone my skills and gain experience.

It was mostly infiltration missions at first against small groups, information transfer and intel gathering. Go in, get what we need, and disappear without getting caught.

That was all that was required from me. At least, until I turned fifteen.

On December, at the age of fifteen, I was ordered to eliminate a spy that infiltrated in one of the lodgings of the head of the Winter Company. It was the first time I was ordered to kill.

My fingers were shivering and my face buried in the snow. Hidden in the mountain far from the Winter Company villa, I was assisted only through radio contact. It was dark back then, and the snow made my fingers grow numb.

Through the scope of the rifle, I was barely able to make out what was going on in the darkness, even with the night vision. But it looked like it was a violin performance of the chairman’s daughter.

I was ordered only to watch the situation until actions were necessary. During the performance, the man standing in the back grabbed the little girl and held a gun against her head. It became a hostage situation, and orders weren’t coming in fast enough.

“Hello, Hello. The situations changed, the suspect has taken a hostage. I repeat, the suspect has taken a hostage.”  
I could hear the feedback from the wires as I was waited for them to respond.

“We read you Black Cat, re— loud — Repeat, do not —”  
The wind started to blow colder and the snow fell heavier. I think the blizzard was interfering with the radio transmissions.  
_Whose brilliant idea was it to make my first mission out in the mountains?_

Looking at the situation, I decided to disregard the orders I received. I felt like I had to take action, I couldn’t let it continue.

I banked on the thought that I could excuse it through bad communication.  
Through the rifle’s scope, I saw the man pinned against the wall, still holding the girl captive. I couldn’t get a good aim as the snow flickered through the scope, and the weight of the snow on my back made it difficult to even move.

There was no guarantee that I would hit the target. I was afraid that the bullet would miss and accidentally hit the hostage. But as soon as I felt the trigger press against my fingertips, my body started to burn.

My body heated up, and my heartbeat started to race.

 _It was the same as before._ I felt like I was going to pass out any moment. My vision started to blur and my mind was blanking out, but for an instant, everything became clear the moment I got a good aim, my finger automatically pulled the trigger on its own.

Snow, wind resistance, trajectory, all of those lost meaning the moment the bullet was fired. With a faint blue glow in its sparks, the bullet acted the way I needed it to, the way that I hoped that it would.

After I took the shot, my body returned to normal and the burning sensation dissipated.

The sight from the villa turned grim as the man’s blood splattered everywhere. Everyone in it started panicking, and the company heiress, she… fell to her knees. I couldn’t see it properly through the scope, but I saw her face. I could imagine the pain she went through.

Without a doubt, it was a night neither of us are ever going to forget.

I did what I thought I needed to, but… the results _just didn’t sit well with me_.

Before returning to the car, I stayed hidden in the mountain a little while longer. I kept knocking my head against a tree, thinking “I’m sorry” to myself over and over again as the snow on the leaves dropped on my shoulders.

My stomach churned. It felt like I was going to vomit, but my body wasn’t letting up. _I guess I can’t even vomit thanks to that drug._

It seems like taking a life wasn’t as easy as I wanted it to be. I guess the image of that little girl was burned into my mind. Her fear. I made sure I’d calm down before I returned to everyone.  
_Why am I doing this?  
_ This was the first time I questioned my own actions. I didn’t expect taking a life would be so… _difficult._

When the weight on my chest started to ease, and when the numbness from the cold faded, I went back to the location that they expected me to return to.

As I approached the car, the lady who assisted me on the radio handed mug of some dark… _brown… thing._

“Well done, Mister Asther.”  
The lady said as she handed it to me.

The steam was clearly visible, and its warmth was soothing. I guess this is what happens when you sit too long in the middle of the snow.

I held the mug and took a sip, the drink smoothly crossed through my throat. It was sweet, but… _it was bitter_. Definitely not the hot chocolate I was hoping for.

“… Uhm, what is this?”  
I asked as I stared at the agent who gave it to me

“It’s coffee. I thought I should prepare something for you after your mission in the snow. Is it not to your liking, Mister Asther?”  
She replied, visibly panicked and uncertain as to how to react.

 _So this is coffee_  
“It’s… nice.”  
I answered timidly, as I looked out into the mountain.  
She sighed with relief as she returned to the car.

I guess I made two discoveries this day. The despair of someone I’m unable to reach, and coffee. It wasn’t a fair exchange.

I entered the car, looking out the window as lights flashed by me. The bumps on the road, and the heaters soft warmth in the dead of night all made me feel so…tired.

Despite feeling little fatigue, my mental state had to rest and as I patiently waited to return home, I fell asleep on the car.

My missions had become like this for the few months. I guess they were trying to get me used to killing.  
Pulling the trigger became easier, but forgetting the horrified faces of the innocent bystanders didn’t.

After a few missions similar to this one, I had made countless mistakes. So much so that I was provided with specialized weapons from the development laboratory due to me almost killing many important people.

By the time I turned seventeen, I had become the instrument of destruction the agency wanted me to be. In spite of this, whenever I feel the trigger on a normal gun, I remember the despair ridden on that girl’s eyes.

Years later, new codenames came and went, as I was forced to go by many names… Certain that stuck however were Omen, and the Black Cat of Ruin. They weren’t official codenames since I never really bothered.

After a while, I’d reached the rank of 13th among the hundred strongest of all the twelve organizations like this. I didn’t have many merits to my name, but I was told that it was due to my ‘still massive potential to excel.’

Nothing I really cared about. At least, not until I saw how large the world truly was.


	4. Say Hello To...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A certain face says hello, a certain introduction is brought into the fray.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized I can't Italize stuff here. Or at least don't know how to. My documents already allow for Italizing but I don't know how to do so here.
> 
> Also,  
> Marie = First person/Felix perspective  
> Maria = Third person, narrative perspective.

After having lunch, I was lying on a bench in the training field, drinking _coffee._

For the most part, it was a slow day. Switching between staring at the sky and watching the others train, but I wasn’t able to approach any of them. Nor did anyone approach me. Since my last spar only lasted eight seconds, I guess they might be too afraid to come near me.

 _But that can’t be right. Wouldn’t anyone wanna beat top dog?  I’d love to challenge someone who’s stronger than me.  
_ From the distance, their movements appeared slow and sluggish to me, but it maybe because I was only watching, instead of actually sparring.

As Felix took a sip from his coffee, he heard a voice call out to him.

“Sir Felix!” He stood as an agent called for him from the shade of the building.

“I apologize for calling out to you from the distance, but the heat was rather too harsh for someone like me.” The man in the black suit bowed his head slightly towards Felix.

“ _Yeah, yeah_. Just hand me the mission instructions and get the car ready.” Felix answered abrasively with a lowered head, reaching out his hand, expecting the mission documents.

“Actually, sir, the Director called for you directly.”

“Huh, what’s so important that the chief has decided to talk to me directly?”   
Felix asked himself with a tired, sharp tone as he walked to the office.

As he headed towards the chiefs office, a familiar face walked in his path.

“ _The child of the Stars,_ Felix Asther. It has been a while.”  
A vein slightly pulsed in Felix’s head.

“Yusuke Tetsuya, what an unpleasant surprise.”   
Felix said sharply with a smug grin.

“As rude as ever, I see. Well, how have you been doing?”   
The professor replied as he patted Felix’s shoulder.

“Fine, considering I’m basically a peerless superhuman put on a pedestal with everyone having high expectations of me. Sometimes makes me wish I was that kid back in the street again, eating garbage.”

“Have you no grudge to hold against me?” Doctor Tetsuya asked, looking directly at him.

“Grudge? What an odd word to use. You only caused the worst day of my life as well as mentally scar me for the rest of it, other than that, I don’t see why I would ever hold a grudge against you. Though, I do think of you more as a massive annoyance, if anything.”

“Ha-ha, I see you’re doing quite well. Well then, take care of yourself. I would not want anything undesirable to happen to my masterpiece.”  
Despite being a mad scientist, the man brought a genuine smile to the conversation as he looked at Felix with pride.

“… I take it you’re still doing those experiments with those drugs?”  
Felix asked hesitantly, already aware of the answer.

“Those _drugs_ you refer to are what I call ‘The Charity of Mankind’s Redemption’”

“That’s a bother. Change it to just… _‘The Charity.’_ ”

“And no, there has only been one batch of Implementation after yours, and I was no longer allowed to participate in it directly. Since the first one, the agency has been afraid I might get caught in another disaster.”  
The man answered with disappointment.

“Why didn’t you just bring more assistants if you wanted to continue being part of it?”

“Due to the rarity of the material, I had little reserves to recreate the same amount, _especially the ones that were used on you_. Thus, the process required a delicate touch that I couldn’t let anyone else compromise. Why, does it bother you?”

“… Not really. Hopefully, you’ll be able to make _another_ peerless superhuman so that someone could finally give me a challenge.”  
Before he could reply, Felix resumed walking the hall. As the two of them faced opposite directions, the professor turned halfway, telling him.

 “As for that ‘ _peerless superhuman’_ statement, it reminds me, an experimentation had concluded recently based on my research, and has resulted in a couple of new recruits.”  
The professor scratched the white hair on his chin with his eyes gazing blankly.

“Is that a fact, you think they’re strong enough to take me on.”  
Felix continued his march with closed eyes.

“Do not be so rash, child. And also, I was actually thinking of calling you experimental super soldiers as… _espers._ What’s your opinion on it?”

“Dunno, never heard it before. And, by the way, say hi to your son, Ryuunosuke for me. I miss the brat.”   
He answered, but did not stop walking as he walked onwards. In his voice was an agitated echo.

Felix knocked on the door, and waited until he was summoned.

“Felix Asther, requesting permission to enter.”

“Come in~ We have milk an— ow, ow, that hurts, stop!” A soft feminine voice answered from inside the office, but was stopped.

Felix’s eyebrows curled, as he sighed before entering the room. The sight before him gave a little surprise, as he saw the chief pinching the cheeks of a girl with a bob cut.  As his eyes lowered onto the table, much to his chagrin, actually had a platter of milk and cookies.

“I’ll… come back later.”

“Ah-hem.”  
With a deep cough, the chief stopped Felix in his tracks, turning him around.

“Felix, this girl here is one of the Elite Agents. Her name is Maria Reedman. She’s technically the only other Elite Agent here, having even greater combat experience than you do in the field, _not just in combat scenarios like you._ ”  
The chief uttered in a mocking tone.

_This girl, with the mouth stuffed with cookies, is an Elite Agent?_

_That face, he must be…_  
Maria thought to herself with widened eyes

“Well, maybe if you’d let me out in the field instead of long-distance assassinations, I might just improve.”

“Indeed. It was under Professor Yusuke Tetsuya’s orders that you were not allowed to be sent out in actual combat. He wanted to ‘ _test the waters’_ long enough to see if you could handle it.”

“ _I’m the best agent here._ ”

“ _Before she left of course._ And that is why we could not allow you to be compromised until such time as you were ready.”

“And when will I be _ready?_ ”  
Sarcastically, Felix grinned with dulled eyes.

“Now.”  
Wait, _really_? Is that why he was here?

“Maria.”

“R-right!”  
The girl in front quickly gulped down the cookies stuffed in her cheeks and stood up before Felix.

“H-hi there! My name is Maria Reedman, but you can call me Marie. Nice to meet you, m-mister Felix.”   
She stuttered as she stretched her hand nervously towards Felix.

“Likewise.”   
Felix replied awkwardly as he shook her hand.   
_She’s actually really cute when I look at her._

 _His eyes aren’t the same? Blue and black heterochromia?_   
Maria thought to herself as she looked at Felix.

“W-wait a second? Felix… Asther? This guy is the Black Cat of Ruin?!”  
The girl pointed at Felix, waving her hand up and down as the shock came out her squealing voice. Felix’s face was a mix of confusion and disgust.

“Indeed.”

“ _Could you be fun I wonder?_ ”  
Maria stopped and asked with a strange smile.

“Huh?”

“Don’t mind what she said. Felix, you will be sent out to infiltrate and assist Maria to retrieve some information from an underground mafia organization called ‘Dragon of the Little Sun’, in Beijing.”

“Wait, assist? Why not just let me do it alone?”

“I’m afraid the information we need you to retrieve is digital. We can’t have you taking the wrong documents… _again._ ”

“B—”

“And before you say anything, it’s not simply you’re inability to work with computers, Maria is one of the more recent additions into this organization after many _unclear_ things happened here and there. She is a skilled cracker. So for this mission, I’ll be having you protect her.”

“I’ve never done anything like this before.”

“You have my permission to kill anyone in sight, but keep damages to a minimum. It would be preferable if you kept a low profile. This place is heavily fortified, nothing like what I’ve had you done before. And because of the heavy tension between our organizations, it’ll quickly be traced back to us. I reiterate. Keep. The Damages. Minimum. Understood? Otherwise, we’ll have to compensate… _again._ ”  
The chief emphasized her stale annoyance

Felix’s eye twitched as the chief’s issues with him became clear as day  
“I see...”  
  
Well then, it’s a pleasure working with you.”

“If you understand, then you are dismissed. The both of you are to go as soon as you are ready.” The chief said as she shooed them out of the office.

As the two exited the room, Maria looked at him and mustered up a little strength, and asked  
“So, um… cookie?” She offered a cookie from her hand.

A short pause came as Felix looked down on her for a few seconds. Maria slowly turned uneasy, thoughts about her being hated by someone she looked up to immediately clouded her mind.

“Thanks”   
He took it with lowered eyes, answering in a dried tone.   
“Mhmm, this isn’t bad.”

“I know, right!” Her eyes quickly sparkled as she looked at him eating it “I have more, oh, and this is also really good!”

“I’d… rather not, thanks. This is enough for now.”

 _He really isn’t all that expressive, is he?  
_ Maria thought to herself.

The conversation continued back and forth like this between the hyperactive girl and the calm, unsociable boy, as they went to prepare for the mission at hand.


	5. Dichotomy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the shadows infiltrate the room, they were taken by surprise by an unexpected guest.

The two of us prepared our gear. I got my specialized guns back from the lab, and put them in my briefcase.  
I finished preparing first, so while waiting, I guess I should just get myself something to drink.  
As I was pouring myself a nice hot mug, a voice called from the door.

“Wow, you really like coffee, don’t you? This is your sixth cup.”  
Maria spoke as she came into the room, wearing a black turtleneck and cargo pants.

“ _Ninth, actually."_

“I know you’re superhuman and all, but I’m pretty sure too much of that is bad for you.”

“No, it’s really not. Due to my enhanced body, _none of this_ is bad for me.” _  
No matter what I eat or drink, it’ll have little consequence, even a lot poisons for some reason._

“… I really don’t know how to respond to that.”  
She said as she puffed her cheeks awkwardly as she looked at Felix.

We carried our briefcases and headed out. The Agency drove us for a few hours until we reached the Golden Lion Private Airlines. In front of us were a private jet that was gonna bring us to the destination.

In the jet, Marie was bouncing on her seat, I think she was excited.  She looked constantly out the window, while I sat beside her quietly. I didn’t know how to start a conversation.

I was actually expecting her to say something first, but her eyes were focused on the city.  
According to the papers, we’d make it to the destination in about another hour.

“Mister Felix, Miss Reedman. What would you like?”  
The quiet atmosphere was broken as a lady came up to us and asked. Despite being a private jet, a flight attendant still came to serve us, prepared to write down our orders.

“Strawberry Sunrise!”                                                                            
Her attention was drawn from the window as she quickly turned around to reply.

“Coffee, cream, extra sugar.”

“Understood. Miss Reedman, Mister Felix, please wait as your orders will arrive momentarily.”  
The lady said politely as she left.

“…”  
Marie glanced at me.

“What?”                                                                                                                      

“Nothing.”  
Marie nonchalantly turned her head to the side, trying to hide her, _what I assume is_ , disgust.

“Hey, uh. I know this is awkward to ask, but what rank are you?”

“In the agency? I’m the first ran—”  
She cut me off before I finished what I was saying.

“No, I meant on the Organization’s list”

“Oh. I’m ranked thirteen, but I don’t even know how I got there.” _  
I guess I’m up there because I’m “Doctor Tetsuya’s Greatest Achievement.”_

“Thirteenth… out of the top 100 Elites all around the globe?”  
She said slowly, as if to confirm it.

“Why? _Does that mean I’m the thirteenth strongest person in the world_?”  
I answered sarcastically.

“Well, _not exactly_ , but close I guess. The Elite Agent Organization’s list keeps track of all of the _known_ super soldiers in order to withhold the treaty, but not _all_ of them. And since many are made in the shadows…”

_Wow, I did not expect the answer I received._

“Mister Asther, your coffee, as requested extra sweetened. Miss Reedman, your Strawberry Sunrise.”

“Thank you.”  
“Thanks!”

I just sipped from my coffee after hearing what she just said. It wasn’t really that big a deal considering everything, but it left an unanswered question lingering in the air.

After a moment of silence, I mustered the strength to ask  
“Were you also one of his experiments?”

“…”  
She just looked aside, avoiding the question. I know this is insensitive of me to ask, but I’d rather get this out of the way soon, rather than learn it later on.

“You know, you’re basically my senior. You’re the first successful project he created. While most of us ended up as a stage one, myself as a stage two, me and a few other trainees were also subjected to the implementation. Just a year after yours… and well, most of them… died.”  
Her smile turned distant and melancholic, but somehow cautious. I suppose it’s best for me not to pry, but I was still curious.

“While it wasn’t as bad as what happened to you, most of the ones who died that day _were really close to me._ Only five of us survived that day… I mean, survive is kind of a keyword but… the sight that we saw was something wasn’t something for normal children to see… And I don’t think we could ever forget it.”

I guess Marie also had her share of hell.

“When I heard I was going to work with Felix Asther, the child of stars, I couldn’t help but feel excited to see… someone who was like me.”

The mood turned grim, and I didn’t know how to fix this situation. The tension grew as the silence got longer.

“I’m sorry. I know its weird saying this all of the sudden!”  
She said as she waved her hands in front of me, gesturing either to forget about it or to apologize _._

We tried to let the awkwardness fade out in the silence for the remaining time before we made it.

“Too much spilled spaghetti…”  
She whispered under her breath, but I couldn’t hear her clearly.

When we finally arrived, we prepared our gear. I opened my briefcase and put Ion and Thunder Dancer in their holsters, Marie’s black outfit on the other hand became covered with knives.

“Wh-what?”  
Maria asked, slightly flustered, taking notice of how Felix stared at her.

“That’s uh… that’s a whole lot of knives you got there.”

“Well, it is my specialty.”

“… I have a few questions, but I’ll save them for later.”  
_Besides, I think those questions will answer themselves later, anyway._

When we reached our location, we found our target immediately.

A tall building that stood in the center of town, one of the Dragon of the Little Sun’s secret bases. It was covered up by a wealthy CEO to be one of his personal companies.

Their whereabouts were supposedly unknown, and it seems they wanted to keep it that way.  
The town itself however was full of excitement as fireworks started lighting the sky.  
_Honestly, I thought this organization would be a bit more reclusive. Yet the people surrounding it are wearing bright colorful clothes, and are wearing masks._

“… The town’s having a festival. Was that why you were staring out the window?”  
Felix asked, wearing a very light smirk.

 “Well, that and another reason.”  
She replied casually, looking back to the festival after she answered.

“…”

The two of us reached the building’s gate undetected. But given the dozens of guards inside, I feared that it wouldn’t last too long. And since there weren’t many spots with a blind spot, we didn’t exactly have a lot of options. We were stuck outside the gate until further notice.

“What now?”

“I have an idea. I saw this in a movie once.”  
Marie said as she picked up a stone and threw it really hard.

_Really? A movie? Why would you think that would work?_

“Did you hear that?”  
“Yeah, let’s go check it out.”  
The guards said from the other side of the gate.

_I honestly cannot believe this is happening right now._

The two guards approached the obvious lure while they walked towards our direction. We stayed hidden until the two of them got close enough. When they left the security cameras’ view, we incapacitated them.

 I am unable to fathom how that worked so well, and I feel like I’m gonna have a headache the longer I stay with this girl.

Soon after we knocked them out, we took their clothes and entered the gate inconspicuously.  
We just needed to get close enough to the front doors, but before we could, the alarms sounded.

All of the surrounding guards quickly ran towards our direction.   
_But in all honesty, I didn’t even think we’d make it this far, what’s wrong with this girl?  
_ The two of us rushed off, and managed to lose them easily. Given all of the security cameras, it was amazing how we noticed multiple blind spots.

Getting through the gate was a miracle in its own right, now we just have to get inside the building.

After catching our breath, the two of us saw a rather nearby broken window somewhat close enough to reach.

“I can’t reach it.”  
Marie said, trying to jump up the walls.

“Can’t you climb it?”

“It’s too steep for me”

“What about your grappling hook?”

“It’ll cause too much of a commotion. Besides, where would I even hook it on? Broken glass?”

“Then, can you at least jump properly?”  
I said as I clasped my hands together.

Marie ran towards me as she jumped on my hands, I pushed her up soon as I gained her momentum.   
She grabbed onto the window sill and got inside. She then stretched out her hand, offering to pull me up.

“ _Upsy-daisy.”_

I asked her to back away as I ran towards the wall and jumped. My feet immediately landed on the window, but a few shards from the broken window managed to scratch my cheek.

“That was two meters— you’re cut.”  
From awe to worry, her attention changed, saying that as she tapped the scratch with her handkerchief.

“It’s fine, you don’t have to, ah, that stings.”

 “There, _now_ it’s fine.”

We walked around the area, looking for the room. The map they gave us was a rough draft of the interior a year before, so it’s likely many things have been changed. Information about this place is way too secure.

After a few minutes of walking around the two of us ended up in what appeared to be storage facility  
“Hmm… maybe we should ask for directions.”

“What are you—!?”  
I screamed under my breath.

“Oh, there’s a light over there, maybe we cou—”  
A loud thump could be heard as she fell, caught in a tangle of wires on the floor and a yellow glow.

_Ladies and gentlemen, an Elite Agent, one of the one hundred most skilled agents in all of the organizations in the world, in action._

As I tried to untangle her from the knotted mess, she immediately rose back up, bringing her face a little too close to mine. I pushed myself aback, I wasn’t aware that the tangled wires I tried to remove was all behind me. The two of us, despite my effort to remove the wires, only got us tangled even further while facing each other.

“Hi.”  
My face was right in front of hers, the two of us somehow ended up tangled.

“Hnnng!”  
Marie struggled to push me out.

“There’s no point in you pushing me away. The both of us are stuck here.  Here’s an idea, why not use one of your knives to tear us free?”

“I can’t! They’re under this uniform! And even if I could reach them, we don’t know what these wires are for!”

“Got anymore bright ideas? Anything you watched from a movie that covers this?”

Maria whimpered in response.  
A silence arose between the two as security seemed to die down.

_Maybe I should, but he’s right in front of me— Eh?_

“Random question… Did you notice a yellow light when you got tangled in this mess?”  
Felix asked in a dry manner.

“Um…”

 “Hey, you two!”

“Oh… shit.”

“There’s a security breach downstairs! What are you doing here?!”  
_He speaks English.  Why? Why does he speak English?_

“Uhm—”  
Marie blurted out, as she thought to herself. C _ome on, genius, don’t you have anything from one of your movies?_

“Didn’t the boss tell you not to flirt during work hours?”  
The man said, unfazed about what was in front of him.

 _F-flirting?!_ Is that what this looks like to you?   
Maria’s thoughts, too, became tangled in wires. Flustered while trying to come up with a way to get out of the mess they found themselves into.

With quick thinking, Maria kissed Felix’s cheek while looking straight at the man.

“With all due respect, sir, the two of us, uh, came here to… _well…_ you know. But we got caught up in these wires.”  
Maria quickly played the part as the man approached them and tugged on the wires.

 “I get it. I don’t mind keeping this a secret, but don’t let it happen again. Besides, this place is off limits. It isn’t exactly the best place to be doing that kind of thing. I’ll let you get down to your business, but be careful next time, alright.”  
He responded as he took off the wires.

“Still, I can’t understand how the two of you got caught up in these wires.”  
The guard said as he walked away.

“What just… _happened?_ ”

“I have no idea.”

“Didn’t he _at least_ think we were suspicious?”  
Felix’s normally expressionless face started to show minor annoyance as his eye twitched and raised one of his gun at the man who turned his back.   
Felix returned to his calm exterior before he pulled the trigger as he recalled the voice of the chief telling him to keep the damages to a minimum.

“He knows what a man wants, and what a man needs.”  
Maria answered with an awkward expression written on her face.

I didn’t wanna pursue this conversation further so I didn’t respond to her quip.

We walked around the area some more, searching for whatever information or lead we could get. But we had to avoid all contact. As we paced around avoiding the cameras, we were able to locate the surveillance room.

We incapacitated the man who sat in the surveillance room and made it look like he was only sleeping soundly.

Through the screens, Marie was able to point out the place we needed to go to.

Security was still in high alert, so the two of us waited till the coast was clear before rushing out.

But before we left the surveillance room, Marie edited the footage as a safety measure, just in case anyone stumbles into this room. And she sort of… cut the man a little bit with her knife… I don’t know.

The room was dark, and the only light were the ones beyond the window walls.

Marie brought out a drive and easily cracked into the database. While she transferred the files, everything looked as if it was gonna go smoothly. I kept watch, while she read the files that were on the records.

“ _This is…_ ”  
Marie sounded surprised, but when I looked at the screen, I couldn’t understand a thing.

“Hmm, what?”  
Felix asked in a dull tone.

“Who’s there!”  
Maria called out to the door, but I didn’t notice anything approach us.

From outside the room, the both of us heard multiple screaming, as the sound of clapping came closer towards the agents.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here? The festival is outside, what are you kids doing in a dull place like this?”   
With a sly laughter, the man entered the room. It looked like we were cornered, _what do we do now?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have re-read and re-written this multiple times and I still can't seem to get this chapter done properly.


	6. Transparency

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Escaping the inescapable, a pale blue light brings them closer.

_This guy… Even with my enhanced senses, I couldn’t detect him. Was he here the whole time?_  
Felix thought, visibly surprised as his eyebrow curled with annoyance, the difference in experience quickly dawned on him.  
“Who the hell are you?”

“I must apologize for my rudeness. I am the Teal Serpent. I am currently employed here and am under direct orders to protect this place from any and all intruders.”

“You’re lying.”  
Maria replied with a sharp tone.

“What?”  
He asked the same question that came into my mind.

“According to the records, you haven’t been hired here.”

“Oh, and what gives you the assumption that I am on the records?”

“Every Elite Agent that this mafia has ever hired or has ever tried to hire has been recorded in this section of the database. From everyone who refused, or the ones that were occupied at the time, including the most recent one they tried to hire, being only an hour ago… _You slaughtered those men_.”  
Marie’s voice turned serious as she turned her glare towards the enemy.

“Well, you’ve caught me red-handed. Given how you made it this far, Am I right to assume that one or both of you are also on the Organizational Rank list? Is it alright if I ask for your codenames?”

“What for?”  
I asked him hostilely despite not having an official codename for myself.

“The codenames are also meant to let the other party know what they’re dealing with, giving the opposition a chance to avoid conflict. It _is_ part of the treaty to allow them leave unharmed.”  
Marie explained to me while she walked towards him, preparing for combat.

 _This means Felix doesn’t have a codename yet._  
Maria nodded to Felix, waiting for him to understand what she meant.

“But in the end…”  
Teal Serpent continued

“… it doesn’t even matter.”                                          

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Despite the situation being like this, to my chagrin, this girl maintains a sense of silliness.

“As I was saying, it all boils down to the situation. I believe you and I are on the same mission.”  
He responded to us as he drew his guns.

“Venom Vanguard, engaging.”

“Ah, ranked 24th. Quite high up there. You kill every opposition with a single cut, with knives endowed with neurotoxins that either disable motor skills, or to simply kill the enemy outright, correct? And what of you, Blue Eye?”  
He pointed his finger toward me after holding his chin.

“Child of Stars.”  
At this anxious moment, I didn’t have an official codename yet and it was the first thing that came to mind. But I suppose it’s better than outright telling the enemy your name.

“I have never heard of you. You must be new.”

“…”  
Unable to answer him, I replied with a glare.

“Very well, then. Teal Serpent, engaging.”

The two of them quickly clashed as Maria did the first move. Drawing one of her knives quickly followed by a swift slash through the air.

Teal Serpent was wary of her Maria’s specialty, and fought accordingly to disrupt her fighting style.

_This is bad, in terms of “fighting potential”, I’m clearly above him. But in terms of actual experience, it was a clear cut above my own. I never fought another Elite Agent before, yet clearly he has. Even Marie has a better chance of beating him than I do. I’m at a clear disadvantage._

_But, I really wanted to prove what I was capable of. To challenge someone who was ‘stronger’ than me._

Teal Serpent threw a grenade at the two of them, but Maria pulled out her grappling hook and connected to it, using the bomb as momentum making a makeshift whip that let her keep a distance.

The air whirled as Maria continued to swing her explosive whip, all while the Teal Serpent jumped around and avoided it. When the grenade signaled its explosion and Maria slammed it to the floor, and the impact pushed the both of us away, and tearing apart the grappling hook.

The explosion was heard multiple floors down and drew the attention of the guards in the lower levels, causing them to scramble.

Immediately after the blast, Maria returned to the fight while Felix was mesmerized at the fight before him. The difference of the combat training and a real battle between the Elite Agents unfolded before him.

“Felix, _a little help, please! You’re supposed to be the one protecting me!_ ”

“Oh, right!”

I pulled out Ion, but before I could shoot, he immediately closed the distance between us.

He easily grabbed my arm and pinned me to the ground. Even though I could see it all happen so clearly, I wasn’t able to react to his moves fast enough.

Was this the difference between training and real combat? _Where did all my training go?_

“ _Felix?_ I see. You’re the bastard who caused a rupture in the ranking, skipping through everyone else! To think the Treaty of Agencies work in your favor. How could a black kitten as weak as you ever reach a high rank?”   
The Teal Serpent monologued as he attempted to break my arm.

“ _Get away from him_!”  
Maria attempted to strike, but missed as the Teal Serpent jumped onto the table.

The both of us tried to attack at the same time, to no avail. But I was the one he targeted.  
He kept knocking Marie flat on the floor to keep her at bay, but focused his attacks on me. Catching me off guard as he managed to pin me against the wall, choking me.

“You don’t quite seem to deserve your rank there”

“I never… asked… for it.”  
It became too difficult to breathe.

_I was ranked for my “potential,” not for my achievements._

He pulled out the gun from his belt. As soon as I saw the sight of the gun, my body instantly burnt up, to the point where it felt like it was on fire. It was the same sensation from those times.

Before he could point it to my forehead, I grabbed onto his arm and dragged it off.

Then something sprayed on me. I was unaware that the feeling of liquid. But I tore it off without noticing.

All of my senses were heightened to its full potential. But in that very moment, I blanked out when it happened.  
His blood had showered on my face before I could realize.

“Wh-what the hell?!”  
The Serpents face grew frightened as he clutched on his arm. Only then did I realize what had happened.

“ _This… is my strength?”  
_ Was this the difference between training and being experimented on?

The Teal Serpent’s face turned pale at what he believed was the declaration of the young man. In front of him was no longer the boy who ruptured the rank list, but a monster with a glowing blue eye.

“P-please… spare me!” _  
You’re an Elite Agent, have some pride._

“…”  
The man in front of Felix cowered, clearly lost all confidence he had in himself

“All right, but I’ll have to knock you out.”  
Felix answered as he pointed to the man’s head

“Wh-what?”

“Don’t worry, _this gun_ won’t kill you _._ ”

He was knocked out by a shot from Ion. The first fight I’ve ever had with another Elite Agent ended with him begging for his life. It felt rather… _anti-climactic. Sad, even._

Although, after the realization of what just happened, I felt my stomach churn, and the need to vomit after I what I did to his arm, however, I did what I can to keep it buried in.

“ _To think he would disregard the treaty… Hm? What… is that?_ ”  
Marie asked as she glanced at me steadily pointing holding my hand after I shot the Teal Serpent.

“It’s a specialized gun, I call it Ion.”  
I answered as I held my gun in front of her.

“ _A specialized gun?_ ”  
She stared questioningly as Felix clearly missed her point.

“Look, it’s a silent direct-energy gun. It’s so that I don’t accidentally kill anyone important.”  
A gun without a bullet, one that didn’t need to kill.

“No, I meant your eye, and your speed! I could barely keep up!

 “ _My… eye?”_

“It’s glowing! Right now! It looks so cool!”  
She said squealing with her palms on her mouth.

_Glowing? So it’s doing it again. Still, I just tore a man’s arm off and this is how she reacts.  Is she insane?_

“Shhh, stop shouting. I can still hear them look for us.”

“ _You can hear who?_ ”  
Maria looked at Felix with a dumb curious smile

“The guards, can’t you?”  
_They probably noticed the explosion earlier… Luckily, they don’t suspect this room yet, but they’ll be here any minute._

“ _N-no_. So, what do we do with him?”  
She returned her view to Felix.

“He isn’t a threat anymore, and we got what we needed, anyway. Let’s leave already.”  
_I knocked him out, but he’s going to bleed out and die anyway._

“I still think we should get rid of him.”

“Do what you like, but I’m not looking.”  
Felix said as he walked towards the window, watching the festival outside, hearing the whispers and the footsteps of the floors below them. But he quickly turned around as he heard the sound of a gun cocking.

“Wait, no, don’t use a g—”  
The gun fired, echoing to the lower floors.

“What was that?!”  
“I heard a gun fire!”  
“It came from up there!”  
The voices of the guards flurried as they rushed towards the room Felix was in.

“We have to go!”  
Felix said as he grabbed onto Maria’s arm.

“Wait, what?!”

“We can’t go through the door, they’ll get here in a few seconds.”

“Who’ll be here?!”

“The guards! I just told you! I thought you specialized in knives, why did you shoot him?!”  
_Fighting is a bad idea, we’ll only get pinned down, and we have to keep damages to a minimum._

“ _I panicked, shooting him seemed more efficient! It was the only piece on me! And I thought you were just showing off when you told me you could hear them_!”  
Maria was unable to admit that she wanted to look cool in front of Felix, and that was the first time she was put in such a situation.

“Why would you think that?! No other exits, looks like we’re gonna have to improvise! Get your grappling hook!”  
Felix said as he shattered the window while the two of them were still panicked.

Maria quickly took the information drive and kept it hidden.  
“Grappling hook broke! Have a nice day!”

_What’s that even supposed to mean?!_

“You’re a superhuman too, right? With the Charity drug thing?!”  
Felix said as he looked towards the festival, noticing something.   
_Top floor, huh?_

“Y-yeah?!”

“Well, then. You’ll live.”  
Felix said cryptically as he carried her in his arms like a princess.

“Wh-what?!”

The door behind them slammed, as the guards took aim and prepared to shoot.  
“You two, freeze!”

“Eh, how high could four floors be?”

“WHAT?!”  
I dashed quickly through the broken window.  
“Hold on tight!”

I thought I had steeled myself from the shock. But as fell to the ground, I felt a massive tingle crawl its way from the soles of my feet through every fiber of my being, paralyzing me for almost a whole minute before I could gasp for air.

Strangely, though. Despite the crash, it felt as if midway, we slowed down.

“F-Felix…”                                                                                                                
_Her voice became shaky, it looked like she took more damage from the fall than I did. The shock must’ve been far worse for her._

“What is it?”

“Your eyes, b-both of them are glowing blue.”

“Both of them?”  
Does that mean I’ve unlocked another level?

“Why do they shine like that?”  
When the sensation returned to my feet, I started running as fast as I could.

“I don’t know what triggers it to do that, but I think it has something to do with trauma or adrenaline.”

“Gnarly.”          

“I’m sorry, my heightened senses are still on, did you just say _gnarly_?”

“N-nothing.”  
She answered nonchalantly as she looked to the side, averting her eyes from mine.

I’m not in the mood for this  
He thought to himself lifting his foot as he slowly started to run.

When Felix glanced up, he saw that the guards were still on their tail, planning to chase them, the two of them jumped down from the roof, maintaining the pain from the fall, enduring as they hid in the festival.

“They’re still following us.”

“Well, this is a festival… let’s blend in.”  
This girl, who spouted random nonsense the entire time, actually had a half-baked decent idea.

She went through the garbage and made a makeshift outfit.

“Give me your cloak.”

“Oh, uhm…”  
I handed her my cloak, making my guns plainly visible.

After she tied my cloak around her waist, she covered herself up with a large shirt, and tied her hair into a ponytail, wore a broken black mask. After which she handed me some sort of… torn… yellow pleated garment. Is this a kimono?

“Wear this.”

“I don’t…”

“Trust me.”  
Marie said as she changed my appearance entirely from the garbage, in the span of only a few minutes.

“There, hope you don’t mind it all came from the garbage.”

“Not really, I used to wear these kinds of stuff.”

“H-huh?”

“Nothing.”  
Felix dismissed the topic quickly before Maria could fully understand what he meant.

“Something’s still missing.”  
Maria said as she looked around for something.

Marie approached a lone, brown haired little girl from the distance after she uttered those words.

“Hey kid, what’s your name?”  
She asked the young girl cheerfully, clasping her hands.

“I’m Hazel!”  
The little girl replied enthusiastically, raising her hands up.

“Okay, Hazel. I’m gonna need your mask, okay? I really, really need it.”

“B-but why?”

“There are these bad guys chasing us, we need disguises to get away from them! Please, please please~!”  
She responded like a parent would, waving her hands in front of the girl.

“Oh, okay! Here! Hide fwom the bad people, heroes!”  
She answered heartily, the poor, naïve little girl.

“Thank you soooo much!”  
Maria took the mask with a cheery tone as she returned to Felix.

 _Heroes, huh?_  
Maria thought to herself with warmth in her chest.

“Here!”  
She held the mask in front of my face.

“Poor kid, taken advantage of.”  
Felix said with deadened eyes, looking at the plain white mask with black eyes

“Hey!”  
Maria pouted, clearly insulted  
“ _Sigh,_ anyway, come on!”

“What do you mean come on? We don—”

“I know where to go!”  
She said as she grabbed my hand.

The two of us walked around as we hid in the crowd while covering our tracks. Marie lead me to all sorts of nooks and crannies, after a while, where we managed to shake off our pursuers. After about a three minutes, we’d manage to get far enough to escape to the underground unnoticed.

“Here it is.”  
Marie lifted a small manhole in front of us.

“How did you know about this?”

“I was looking from the window, remember?”

“You were looking the city for escape routes from the jet? You already made a plan before the private jet even landed?”  
This girl lead me around the town, before finding an escape route to the sewers that we jumped in.

“Kinda, yeah. I just had to familiarize myself after I analyzed the map.”  
While walking around for a few minutes, Felix stared at her as their footsteps echoed from within, waiting for a response from headquarters.

Felix took a deep breath, before uttering to her with an irritated groan  
“You really make no sense to me.”

“ _Thanks_.”  
Maria replied to him with a bright smile. Before I could reply, the transceiver beeped.

“The transceiver finally gained signal from here.”  
I picked up and responded quickly.

“ **Felix, this is—quarters. Do y— copy?”  
** The transceiver was full of static feedback.

“We read you.”

“ **Sorry it took a while, it was difficult to get the transmission to work** ”

“The mission is complete, we need a lift.”

“ **Understood, what are your coordinates?** ”

“Both of us are underground. Somewhere in the sewage. I don’t know the specifics, but we’re somewhere North from the festival.”

“ **Understood, meet us at point Delta** ”

“Roger.”  
We answered simultaneously.

We walked in circles until we found another manhole far from the crowds of the festival. When the two of us got out, we managed to get our breath back from the stench underground. Marie then whispered something to herself again.

“Phantom”

“What?”  
I asked her despite hearing her clearly.

“That plain white mask, the glow faded, but you said it did that a lot, right? With those glowing blue eyes… you don’t have an official codename in the Ranks, right?”  
Her voice shook with excitement.

“Technically, yeah…”  
Black Cat of Ruin seems to stick well, though.

“Well, what about “Blue Phantom?” It really suits you! Along with your speed, your unfollowable movements! Just like a ghost.”  
She said ecstatically, with glimmering eyes.

“I don’t think _‘unfollowable’_ is a word.”

“You know what I mean! Register as that!”

“…”  
I didn’t really have an argument. It sounds tacky, but it’s better than being called _‘the child of stars’_ all the time, and it’s not like the omen, Black Cat.

“You truly were fun.”  
She said as her consciousness faded. I couldn’t blame her, even I’m too exhausted to talk.

After half an hour, our ride finally came along, and picked us up.  
During the trip, she quickly fell asleep and was carried back when we finally made it back to headquarters. But I was still busy typing out the report. After which I sent it directly to the chief thereafter.

For her to sleep so soundly after everything that happened, I was a bit jealous at how peaceful she looked.

When we returned to the base, I immediately requested the service to make coffee for me. Hoping I could have some time to myself, but before I could have a cup, the chief requested for our audience once again, almost immediately.

Marie was nervous, but I wasn’t really interested on what he had to say.

“You both.”  
She said deeply in the brightly lit room.

“Yes?”

“Did splendidly!”

_Uhh, what?_

“You wot mate?”

 “Not only did you pull this mission off perfectly, but you were also able to take down the Teal Serpent, the 19th ranked Agent. I did not expect such incredible results from you! Especially up against the highly guarded facility of the Dragon of the Little Sun. The two of you will receive promotions.”

“Thank you for your praise, chief.” I answered  
“We are humbled by your words, sir.” Marie answered.

 “And because of that, you both are now officially partners for most of your future missions.”  
As the chief uttered those words unto them, Felix bit his lip, preventing his shock from showing.

“Excuse me?!”

“Of course, there will be times when you two will be sent separately, but your dynamic is wonderful! That being said, isn’t that great?”

“Y-yeah… _great._ ”  
I’m gonna go mad.

“That will be all. Have a good rest.”

I told Maria to leave the room as I stayed to have a quick conversation with the chief. She left the room, leaving me and the chief alone to talk. I just needed to fix something up.

“Yes, Felix?”  
The chief answered seriously.

“Remember when I said that I didn’t care for codenames, and that call me whatever you liked?”

“Indeed, _child of the stars._ ”  
The chief answered insultingly as she smirked, with a light tone of mockery.

“It seems that I have disregarded its purpose, and I’d… like to change that… as well as a little modification to my outfit.” _  
She was really unprofessional, and panicked a lot. And the tone-shift she brings with her is... difficult to bear with. But, it also feels kind of nice._

“Oh, and what would that be?”           

“Give me a white mask, something that looks, how do I put this? “ _Cool.”_ And… as for my codename, I think it should be Blue Phantom.”

I thought I might humor her. She may have been a headache, but despite being a terrible agent, as well as all the nonsense and shortcomings she brought along with her, I guess it all felt… _fun._ As fun as killing a person and stealing valuable information is.

“Well, that request sounds simple enough. I’ll have it done.”  
The chief answered, scratching her chin.

“Thank you, sir.”  
Felix bowed his head as he was about to leave the room.

Unknown to Felix was Maria, who listened through the door the entire time. Hearing those words made her chest feel warm, smiling without even noticing, and left as soon as their conversation ended, just before Felix could exit.

Blue Phantom, codename registered.   
Now feared throughout all of the organizations as the Golden Lion Agency’s greatest weapon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, I had a beginning and an end, but I had no idea what I was doing in between until recently, and this isn't aprt of it.


	7. Truth of Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An astonishing discovery that borders on the brink of insanity. The two were told what it the name "Children of Stars" truly meant.

In the middle of a helipad, Felix rested after a tiresome day of training. Laying silently while facing the sky. The lights from the helipad he laid on contrasted from the green painted cement it was on. His arm covered his eyes while the lights of the skylines circled the night sky.

Felix uncovered one eye to see the skies, the lights of the aircrafts crossed through the clouds. He paused his breath at the whirling air of the landing helicopters.

“So… uhm…anything you wanna talk about?”  
His question flowed dry through the cold air.

“Iunno…”                 
Maria replied, staring blankly at the cloudy dark skies as she lied down next to Felix.

“Uhm… mhm… tell me about you then, about your life?”  
Felix took a few seconds to collect his thoughts.

“What, why?”  
Maria responded with an eyebrow raised.

“I don’t know… just trying to start a conversation. Pass the time?”

The wind blew over them, echoing between the spaces of the building corners.

“Yeah, as if I’m letting you raise that flag on me.”  
Maria snickered towards an oblivious Felix.

“… What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, forget it. Anyway, for someone who looks _and gives_ unsociable vibes, you’re really snarky, aren’t you.”

“Whoever said I was unsociable?”  
_I’ve had plenty of people who looked up to me, putting me on a pedestal all my life as someone else’s greatest achievement. So as to how I grew up to be like this remains a mystery to me, as well._

The gales grew colder as the winds blew stronger. The pitter patter on the concrete approached from the distance, and the scent of dust and asphalt filled the winds.

“Okay, so um… it’s gotten suddenly cold out, so if you don’t mind I’m gonna go back inside.”

“Yeah, sure.”  
Felix replied.

“It’s gonna rain soon, don’t you plan on going back inside to?”  
Marie breathed into her shaky palms.

“I’ll... It’s alright, I just wanna feel the raindrops...”

“It’s the only time I ever truly feel anything hurr durr.”  
Marie whispered under her breath.

“Hm, what was that?”

 “Nothing, nothing… Alrighty then…”

“Oh, Marie, could you get me—”

“Two milks, three sugars. Right?”  
As she stood up, Marie smiled vaguely at me.

“Thanks.”

Maria walked back into the base outside of the helipads reach. Felix continued to close his eyes, letting the time pass as the strokes of hair and the drops of rain danced in the cold gales. The brushing of leaves in the gales of night made him feel at ease.

Until the whirling of a helicopter directly above Felix brought an irritated groan out of him.

“ _FELIIIIIX!”  
_ A loud exclamation cried out from one of the helicopters that flew above him.

“Geh.”

A vein suddenly twitched as a familiar voice called out to him from the helicopter.  
Maria returned walked outside with a tray in her hands, seeing a familiar man, standing at the edge of the helicopter, drenched in the rain calling out to Felix.

“P-professor Tetsuya?!”  
She raised her hand to wave at the doctor, almost dropping the tray while she panicked.

After changing from the rain soaked clothes, the three of them sat down on black-coated wooden furniture that in a bright, decorated room bathed in beams of gold light from the crystal chandeliers.

The clinking of dinnerware echoed in the room as the food was being placed in front of the three by the room service.

 _“Why did you wear a tanktop?”  
_ I whispered to Marie as she shivered in the cold, holding her arms close.

“Thank you. That will be all.”  
 The professor gestured to stop, the service bowed their heads before leaving the room.

“When I heard that my beloved success was in need of my audience, I rushed to your aide as soon as I could.”  
The professor spoke in awe while probing the sizzling steak with a fork.

“Y-yeah… we could’ve just had this conversation on the phone.”                          
Felix returned, reaching for his coffee.

“Nonsense. For _you_ to call for _my_ assistance is a once in blue moon event.”

“Come now… we both know you’re just bored.”  
Felix grinned to the side, answering him.

“Felix, don’t be rude.”  
_Says the girl with a stuffed mouth._

“On the contrary, I have been getting along splendidly with my research! Not to mention that my own son has started to study cellular biology and biomechanical engineering!”  
The professor exclaimed with his arms raised wide, priding himself with his own progeny.

“Really… Little Ryuunosuke? Sounds like he’ll grow to be as much as a monster as you are, professor Yusuke.”  
Felix said, as he brought the cup of coffee to his mouth.

“ _Felix_ …”  
Marie nudged on me with an annoyed look.

“Indeed! And of course, I called you here because you and I would rather not be…”  
As soon as the professor stopped speaking, the both of us glanced around the room, looking silently with the edges of our eyes.

“W-what? Why are you both acting so cautious?”  
Marie wore a worried expression, looking at the two of us while our eyes darted around the room.

“It’s nothing…”  
Marie probably isn’t suspicious in the least but me and the professor…

“Now, what was it that made you call me?”  
The professor scratched the white hair on his chin.

Felix swallowed with uncertainty, unsure of how to describe what had happened.

“Professor Tetsuya, I um, how do I put this… activated or maybe unlocked something.”

“Yes, yes. You said both of your eyes were glowing with an azure blue light, correct?”

“A deep crystalish blue light! And he was so fast, and unfollowable and—”  
I stuffed Marie’s mouth with bread before she could utter another word.

“Yeah, what she said. But when it happens, my body starts to burn up. Everything becomes increasingly vivid, both my auditory and visual senses become far stronger…”

“I see. So my expectations are going much faster than I had initially anticipated.”  
_He replied cryptically, although I had a feeling he’d know what was going on._

“…”            

“You are currently going through the first stage of your innate potential. You are only still tapping into your capabilities. You still have so much room to grow.”

“… And?”  
The two asked simultaneously with varied tones.

“All of your senses will increase dramatically. Save for your sense of touch, of course. Your body will still need to adapt to those sensations. The first stage is simply activating it, but after going through multiple stages, your body will grow accustomed to it, and you will be able to do things far beyond human abilities, Felix.”

“… Such as?”  
Felix asked, drinking out of the cup full of coffee.

“Unfortunately, that is a question that even I cannot answer. All the calculations always lead to some incomprehensible answer, but if they are correct, that means you would have ascended beyond humanity!”

“Where does that put me?”  
The food in Marie’s mouth suddenly vanished as she asked this question.

“You will also go through a similar transition, albeit much slower, and much less powerful, because the Charity you were inserted with was of a lesser, more tested stage.”  
The professor waved his fork towards her, explaining to her the situation.

“Mhmm…”  
She sulked with a sad expression, with a spoon in her mouth.

 “That drug you put in us… the “Charity,” what was it?”  
Felix asked tracing the food in front of him.

“Ah, that is a question I cannot clearly answer for I have no clear understanding of it either.”

“But what do you think it is, professor?”

The professor grunted hesitantly with his head parched on both of his hands  
“Hmph, “ _Charity of Mankind’s Redemption,” is,_ and I do hope that you do not think of me as senile or insane, however…”

_Too late for that._

“I believe that it is the blood of a once intelligent extraterrestrial life-form, one that could adapt and survive the harsh environments of space. One that I had witnessed crash on Earth many decades ago. A discovery I’d thought to have become mad from.”  
He paused after his explanation.

Felix’s eyebrows curled as he listened to the professor while Maria stared curiously while she continued eating.

“Is that why its production is so scarce?”  
Felix asked, pointing his fork towards the professor.

“Indeed. Up to this very day, I have difficulty coming into terms of what I saw, it was as if fate gave me path to walk towards.”  
The man answered with distant, melancholic eyes

“Those are some pretty weird words to hear from a scientist.”

“The scarcity of its production, adding to the secrecy surrounding it _have_ caused some rather, ahem, problematic and alarming occurrences for its unorthodox methods of its... _appropriations_.”

With those words spoken, an anxious dye was cast with what the professor told us. A thunder roared outside, and the chandelier flickered, catching both my and the professor’s eye.

“You think we’re being watched?”  
Felix asked under his breath.

“I highly doubt so. After all, I was the one to come to you.”  
The professor replied casually and calmly.

“Really? How do you know I’m not the one being monitored?”  
Felix asked skeptically as he took a sip from the glass.

“Have a little faith in me, boy. Even _I_ can cover up my own steps.”

 “Seriously, why are the both of you so cautious?”  
Marie mumbled with an anxious look.

“The Golden Lion Agency, being a monolith in the organization, garners much opposition.”  
The professor said as he took a large bite from the steak in front of him.

“We can imagine.”

“Information about the “Charity” is restricted even within the agency. Because of this, the benefactors of this agency have raised doubts against us. Considering how unwarranted your promotion was, it could be assumed that they’re setting you up to fail in order to have an excuse to withdraw the funding.”  
The professor explained in full detail as he tore through the steak with his knife.

_So they’re setting me up to fail in order to cut the funds. I had a feeling being ranked for my “potential” was stupid. This explains it._

“However, its announcements have brought much attention to it, to this organization, and to you. For manmade human weapons stronger than cybernetic enhancements to exist, it was almost as if it was a declaration of war against other organizations.”

Felix twirled the teaspoon in his half-empty mug pondering on the professors’ words.

_So I’m not just an agent, I’m also their chess piece for their psychological dick measuring contest, then?_

“It’s likely that they, and even our own benefactors, have a target on your back, and that will do everything in their power to get it.”  
The memory of the battle against Teal Serpent came back to me, for him to ignore the treaty of agencies, could it be that he was after us the whole time? Doubtful, but his motives _were_ unclear.

The conversation paused, and was ended abruptly.

“Anyways, I’ve told you as much as I could for now, and I will leave you these. They will help stabilize your body after the activation of your abilities.”

The professor said while me and Marie examined the small capsules that he handed us. He slid a note to my side while Marie continued to focus at the capsules.

“I am done with my meal, and will be taking my leave. Oh, and do keep what I’ve told you to yourselves. I would rather not have that information going about.”

“Ah, mhm. Right.. th-thanks, professor.”

“Bye-bye!~”  
Marie waved in excitement while I waved awkwardly.

“Oh, and Felix.”  
The professor spoke, clutching the doorknob before opening the door.

“Y-yeah?”

“Be careful. I would rather not have anything bad to happen to my greatest achievement. This applies to you as well Maria, as you are one of the few to have survived.”  
The professor spoke in a serious and unnerving fashion, not as if he was warning us, but as if he was worried.

“R-right.”

“Lastly, the Golden Lion Agency is your friend, but even I’m not certain whether it will continue to stay that way. The two of you trust each other, and as such…”  
His face was silhouetted by the lights outside of the room, but we could tell he looked at us with earnest eyes.

The heavy door echoed through the room as it shut. While Marie continued to eat happily, I had difficulty coming to terms with what he said.  
_That burning sensation is gonna last even longer?_

“So, alien blood, huh?”  
Maria said sarcastically.

“I know right? What does he take us for? Let’s just continue our meal… and I’m gonna order a coffee.”  
I said as I requested for room service to come.

“I dunno, sounds kinda exciting! Romantic even! The two of us… the children of stars.”  
Marie said with a glimmer in her eyes, and a step in her voice, like she was gonna explode with her excitement.

The both of us continued our meal, unfettered by what the doctor told us, although I can’t shake off this feeling of uneasiness that came with the conversation.

It was not long until we were assigned to our next assignment. So for now, I just hid the note he gave me and hid it from Marie.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> She and he basically have Ayyylmao genes


	8. Red-Eyed Guests

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At their door front, arrives an unannounced pair with crimson eyes.

When I returned to my quarters, I kept the lights off and sat on my bedside taking a deep breath. I read the note the professor gave me, holding my breath suspense in the darkness of night.

“ _Peeping eyes and meddling ears are a nuisance, but I believe that he is still alive_.”

I know you’re trying to keep this a secret, professor, but I’m going to need more information to go on.

Felix exhaled deeply, as he let his body fall on the bed. His fingers curled between the soft sheets, covering the top of his face with a gray pillow.

“ _Still alive_ , _huh_?”

After the conversation with the professor, I decided it was too much of a bother for me to wrap my head around the things he told us. The heavy rains made it the perfect time to get some really good sleep. Or at least it would’ve been, if I hadn’t drank twenty seven cups of coffee.

After a long while of contemplating deep in the pitch black night and listening to the rain, I eventually fell asleep.

In the morning, the sight of fresh foliage brushing on glass wall could be seen from the hall outside of Marie’s quarters. I stood waiting for about three minutes knocking on her door. I could hear her snores from here.

Footsteps walked all over the base as everyone seems to be busy doing something… e _xcept for her._

_Honestly. For her to still be asleep at this hour. I question how she ever became an Elite Agent._

“I’m opening the door.”  
Felix said after he called out for her multiple times.

“Hngg.”  
Was the only reply Felix received after banging on the iron door of her quarters.

 _I gently opened the door  
_ “ _Fe-Felix, I—_ ”  
Covered only by her underwear, Marie jumped up and quickly wrapped herself in bedsheets.

Panicked, Marie grabbed her pillows and flung them toward me. To my surprise, said pillows were moving incredibly fast, almost like a bullet. After just barely dodging the attack, I saw the pillow hit the glass wall from the other side of the hall. The shock immediately caused my eyes to spark. It was the same sensation, but much lighter than usual.  
_But I can’t believe that I’d feel threatened by something this silly._

When I returned my eyes on her, her eyes were a faded gold. I couldn’t tell whether it was real or just a hallucination, but I felt a small shiver cross my spine. My vision blurred lightly as a small gasp escaped through my mouth. Marie then cried out in embarrassment.

“N-No fair! You’re using Blue Mode!”  
She bumbled to speak, as she threw more things towards me, unaware of the floating tension she just removed.

 “Ah, uh… Blue Mode? Really, that’s what you’re calling it?”  
Felix asked in faded shock, his hesitant voice returned to its deadpan tone as he dodged and grabbed whatever Maria threw at him while a thick, oil drifted down his arm. Marie whimpered, still only wrapped in her bedsheet.

“U-ugh…Wh-what’s this… black stuff?”  
I slid down my finger as I took a closer inspection on what it was.

“It’s hair dye! Now put it down and get out of my room!”  
She said, pointing at me while clinging on to her bedsheet.

“Fine. Just get ready soon.”

As I left her room, I felt another tingle crawl through my spine, like a sixth sense telling me to duck.  
I followed that sense of self-preservation, unknowingly bringing danger to those who stood in front of me.

“ _KYAH!_ ”

Marie’s pillow hit the face of a stranger walking outside of her room  
“Marie! Be careful!”

“I’m sorry!”  
Maria said as she shut the door, embarrassed and avoiding responsibility.

The girl was lying on the ground, breath knocked out of her body by Marie's pillow attack. Beside her stood a blond young man who was waiting with hands tucked into the pockets of the red coat he was wearing.

“Come on, Isa. A hit like that shouldn’t have taken you down.”  
The blond guy said with a cold stare.

“Sorry, it really just caught me off guard! Hehe.”  
She cheerfully said with a soft-spoken voice.

A girl with silver hair dressed in all white, and a guy with spikey blond hair. Could the two of them be partners?   
They look around the same age as Marie and I.

“Ah, I um… I’m really sorry about that.”  
Felix’s tone unknowingly turned from apologetic into a tone of disappointment towards Marie.

“Your eyes.”  
She said as she grabbed my cheeks  
“They’re blue, and… they’re glowing.”

Her unfamiliar face was unnervingly calm, with piercing crystal eyes that resembled a ruby.

“Ah, um…”  
Felix stuttered to ask, his face turned pale, but his cheeks turned rosy from the girl’s soft touch.

 _Her words were clear, but she acted rather… odd.  
_ “They glow the same way Nero’s!”      

_Oh dear Lord, please don’t be another Marie._

“My apologies. She likes to prattle.”  
The blond guy replied, reaching for her girl. His face was close to my own. Something about him seemed… familiar.

“N-no. I should be uh…”  
He stood up after grabbing the pillow. I expected her to help the girl stand up but, eh.

“Get up, already Isa.”  
The blond guy uttered with a dreadful sigh.

The girl raised her legs, and swung herself upward with her arms. A red light radiated from the guys eyes. The guy pulled his arm back, and threw the pillow back to Marie’s door. With a faint red glow, the pillow’s speed barely escaped my line of sight, and the impact managed to cause a loud bang that echoed in the corridors.

_This guy is…_

After a small pause, I turned returned my sight toward them, but they were already walking far ahead of me.   
The guy waved his hand goodbye walking towards.

“Who are you two?”  
With a tone of hesitation in his voice, Felix asked the two walking ahead of them.

He tilted his head slightly towards me. Our eyes met. Something about it felt… off.

“I have a feeling you’ll figure out very soon.”  
The guy replied sneering at me.

“The two of us are—”  
The girl turned around with a poppy smile.

“Don’t answer him!”  
The guy groaned as he spun head back forward.

 _Yup, no question. From the way they act, the two of them are definitely espers_.

When the two of the left my vision at the corridor, the door suddenly opened

“Okay! Now that I’m dressed, I can apologize properly. And what was that noise earli— WHAT THE FUCK?!”  
Marie shouted as she saw the consequences of what she did.

“Ah, that was their payback after what you did.”

“This is an iron-door! They dented it! WITH A PILLOW!”  
Maria put her hands on the sides of her head with the shock.

“Yeah. I’m just surprised the pillow didn’t explode into feathers.”  
That guy… no, the two of them are something else.

Maria spoke to herself with a hint of curiosity  
“ _Could those two be fun, I wonder_.”

“You really are childish.”  
I breathed out with a slight smile.

The two of us went to get breakfast while awaiting orders. After which, we walked around the base. After breakfast, and _multiple cups of coffee_ , I headed to training.

Toy knives and wooden staffs clanked on the ground as a dozen people fell flat on their backs on the dark carpet.

I had plans for combat practice for the rest of the day, but after knocking down thirty people over and over within ten minutes, everyone probably became too tired to continue fighting.

“Damn, Felix. Everyone knows you’re the strongest one here, but take it easy on us next time.”  
Out of breath, he said to me while lying on the gray mat.

“I was going easy on you guys. That was barely a warm up, Eric.”  
I replied, reaching out my hand, lifting him up. He wiped of his sweat while trying to calm his breathing.

“And besides, had I gone any weaker, that would’ve been an insult to you as a fighter.”

“Heh, an insult is being knocked down repeatedly in under a few seconds. I’ll see you later Felix.”  
He headed to the showers and I was left to fix up the room. As I wiped of my sweat breathing outwardly, I heard a familiar voice come from behind.

“What’s this, so you _do_ know how to socialize!”  
Wearing sparring clothes, Marie spoke with a strawberry between her lips.

“I guess your silliness has rubbed off on me.”

“The great, stoic, sassy Felix telling an aspiring agent inspiring yet gentle words. Pretty out of character if you ask me.”  
Maria said with a gleeful smile on her face.

“If you ask me, you’re the one who’s acting differently. And you’re the only one who calls me those things.”

“That’s because I’m the only one who has the guts to do so. So how about it, wanna go for a round.”  
She said with confidence, kicking a toy knife off the ground catching it.

“Are you still mad about earlier?”

“Take a wild guess!”  
She answered, taking the first strike.

Marie’s strike was fast, but clear and direct. I swiftly turned direction with my palm ahead, ready to counter.   
But as I evaded her attack, the knife danced in her palm, changing its aim tried to strike again. It was far faster than earlier, and felt harder to avoid.

Before I knew it, I was flat on the ground. Her foot had reached my ankle and got me from behind, and tripping me without even noticing.

The two blows were a diversion to get me off balance, and once she knocked me down, I was basically her prey. She held me down by the shoulder, putting all her weight to keep me on the ground and sat on my stomach with the toy knife near my throat. In that moment, I wasn’t facing off against Marie, but I was a small rat in front of a snake.

“Boop.”  
She poked the tip of the knife on my nose with a bright smile on her face.

“Wh-what just…”  
Felix was on the ground, dumbfounded at what had just happened.

“I’m not ranked 24th for nothing.”  
She reached out her hand and lifted me up  
“Looks like you’re not so tough without your Blue Mode.”

“Right… the _Venom Vanguard_. Heh, I want a rematch.”  
Those were the eyes as a predator. Where did she hide this confidence? Never even seen this side of her before.

The training room doors opened as an agent in a black suit entered with a clipboard in hand  
“Mister Felix, and perfect timing, Miss Marie.”

Before he could utter another word, I gestured him to stop  
“No shoes in the training ground.”

“I… I apologize, sir. Th-the Director has requested for the both of you.”  
The agent stuttered in anxiety as he took his shoes off.

“Too bad, looks like we’ll have to settle this another time then.”  
She said while poking on my cheek, wearing a vibrant smile.

The two of us headed towards the chief’s room. Upon arrival, I knocked at her door, waiting for a reply.

“Come in, we have—”  
Before the sentence could finish, we heard a loud thump and a weak-willed whimper.

I twisted the knob, expecting something really silly from this familiar occurrence.   
When I opened the door, I let out a dry breath.

“Do. Not. Make us. Look bad!”  
The guy in the red coat groaned angrily, twisting his fist around the temples of the silver-haired girl. A stream of smoke came out of the chief’s cigarette while she stood, wearing a rather tired, irritated disposition staring out of her window.

“Okay, before you say anything, are we supposed to team up with these two?”  
I raised my finger, asking before the chief could utter a single word.

“No. The two of you are to deal with these two’s job.”  
A squeak came out of the chief’s leather chair as she sat down with a sullen sigh  
“Now, sit down and allow me to introduce you.”

Marie and I sat down opposite to the guests, unpleasantly glaring at the two while as they averted their eyes elsewhere.  The chief sat at her desk while a butler stood by our table, pouring tea for all of us.

“Um, is it alright if I asked for coffee? Instant is fine, preferably cappuccino.”  
I said before he could pour me a cup.

“Of course, sir.”

“Oh, can I order a milkshake? Cookies and cream!”  
Marie said, raising her hand.

“I’ll have one of those, too!”  
_Isa_ said in response to Maria’s request.

“Isa, no.”  
The blond guy told her with grit teeth.

“Very well, they shall be prepared in a few minutes, please”  
The butler responded with a deep, rough tone. He picked up the tray and left the room to prepare our request.

“I hope we didn’t seem rude.”  
Marie pouted, twiddling her index fingers.

“If you’re afraid of that, then you should make an effort to avoid making requests such as those.”  
The chief said, tossing a folder towards us, the papers flew out upon reaching the table. She probably expected it to land perfectly onto the table.

As I stood up to catch the papers, my hands paused in the air as I saw a thin trace of red light.   
Most of them had vanished with a creasing sound.

“ _Hmph_.”   
I heard a satisfied grunt, as I turned my face toward him. His eyes were glowing with a bright crimson, and in his right hand were the pages that had vanished.   
As the last page fluttered in the air, I took away the grin on his face by taking the last page for myself.

“ _Hmph.”_  
I replied with a smirk on my face, looking down on him while placing the paper on the table as I sat back down. His smile paused to turn into surprise, then returning to a competitive smile.

“Still my win, I managed to get more than you did.”  
He said with sly eyes and a sharp smile.

“Is that a fact? Why not try this again, your moves seemed really sluggish after all.”  
While two of us smirked arrogantly towards each other, our companions tried to stop us. Marie kept nudging on my side, while other girl _“Isa”_ kept tugging on his ear.

“Glad to see you’re all getting along marvelously.”  
The chief interrupted us and returned to the point at hand.

“Felix, Marie, these two are our 0guests. Nero Miles, and Isabelle Corona. They come from our sister organization, Bright Dynasty. These two are the only ones thus far to make it through the second stage.”

“The legendary Blue Phantom. Along with the snake queen, Venom Vanguard! To think she would be such a cutie”  
Isabelle said with a glimmer in her eye while Marie ignored the praise.

“Felix, huh? Sounds like a fun name. But to think the legendary agent would be such a shrimp.”  
Nero smirked as he whispered loudly to the silver haired girl beside him. I smiled awkwardly in frustration, but I couldn’t really bark back at him. _Its’ a shame the_ Charity _didn’t do anything for my height_.

“Second stage? What do you mean?”  
Marie asked with a smile, curiously scratching her cheek with her index finger, disregarding the dry praise.

“Second stage of the implementation.”  
The chief replied.

“I thought Marie’s batch was the last one.”  
A frustration came out from the back of my mind as I asked that question.

“It was. At least, here it was. However, after much deliberation among the higher-ups, roughly a third of the information of the ‘Charity’ was officially released into our sister agencies.”

“So it’s not a complete version of the steroid?”  
I returned, unaware that I had become agitated after I said that.

“ _Augmenter_ , and no. But it has since brought out similar results, with less consequences.”

I clenched my fists the second I heard that. “Less consequences” she says…   
The memory of their corpses flashed into my eyes. Piled up on each other one by one as the cold winds of the building were filled to the brim with their shrieks of terror.

All of their blood spilled and crushed under the rubble of the crumbling building, and their memory swept under the rug. If this is what it takes, then what were they all for then? Why were they turned into pointless sacrifices... No, they weren’t even sacrifices, they were _lab rats_.

Felix’s teeth grit tightly, and his vision turned narrow from his frustration.

“F-Felix…”  
Marie tugged on me with a worried expression.

“Ah, yeah?”

“You were making a scary face… and your eyes started glowing again.”

I looked at the rest. Nero looked unnerved while Isabelle had a pale anxious look on her face, covering her mouth with both her palms. The chief kept a composed exterior while breathing in from her cigarette.

“Ah, uh…”  
I glanced to the ground as my lips tightened.

“Felix…”  
Marie wore a forced smile as she tried to make me feel better.

A knock on the door broke the silence, as the butler entered the room with our requests. The tension calmed down. He placed down the tray, bowed his head, and left the room immediately after we thanked him.

“As I was saying, these two are ranked highly among the one hundred Elite Agents of the twelve organizations, Nero and Isabelle are placed 17th and 18th respectively.”

I glanced to Marie, expecting her to be excited after hearing those words, but after the atmosphere was lifted, she looked like she had a bored expression looking into the distance.

“Second stage, huh, I take it you too are also _espers,_ then? How long have you been an elite agent?”  
I tried taking advantage of the situation to lift the remaining tension.

“Don’t know what that means, but the same as you and Maria over there, I would guess.”  
Nero replied, pointing at the two of us.

“Oh, your whole life I take it?”  
I answered, I didn’t think other organizations would do this as well.

“Wh-what, no. Y-your whole life?”  
Isabelle asked, waving her hands “no” in shock.

“Don’t be so surprised, Isa. I was also adopted into the agency at a young age.”  
Nero answered, patting her head.

“You say that, however, your records are all very shady. It seems that you… disappeared, after your early time in this division.”  
The chief said as she stood up, presenting to us the holographic notes from her desk.

“I was out having fun. Is that a problem?”  
He replied with a suspicious, agitated manner

“Nero, stop.”  
Isabelle tried to calm down the rising tension

“It raises numerous questions. About who you are, what you’ve been doing. Whether we can trust you.”  
The chief rebuked with suspicion, not giving him the benefit of the doubt.

Marie nonchalantly slurped from her milkshake.

“Don’t think you’re avoiding this, Marie. You also have many inconsistencies with your reports and documents. Honestly, for someone as skilled as you to have so many problems with these.”  
The chief let out a disappointed sigh after scolding Marie.

“Ahehe~”  
Marie laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of her head.

“Can we just… return to the topic at hand? What was it about taking their jobs?”

“Very well, as you can see in the documents I gave you, our sister organization has requested for the assistance of the Golden Lion Agency.”  
The chief placed her hand on her chin with eyes closed and a slight boastfulness in her tone

“With what?”  
I asked, looking at the documents they provided.

“Apprehension of two rogue elite agents.”  
Nero answered me in a serious manner, placing the sheet in front of me.

“Rank 25th, Blood Wolf, specializing in hand-to-hand combat and quite literally fights like an animal, he wears an adamantine claw. Along with former rank 18, Silver Sentinel. Proficient in long-ranged combat with great stamina.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”  
I questioned why the chief would add such unnecessary information.

“Considering that your enhanced abilities—”

“Blue mode”

“Blue mode only lasts for brief moments at a time, I thought you’d like to know.”  
The chief continued from Marie’s words.

“Wait, you knew about that? Also, blue mode, _really?_ ”  
Felix replied with a tone of light surprised, followed by a question of sarcasm.

“Indeed. Don’t worry, not many know about this. Although given the fact that this has already happened before, albeit slightly different, and also usually red unlike your case, we have sufficient information for such occurrences.”

_I guess the whole point of the professor coming to us was meant specifically to give me that cryptic letter, then._

“Wait, so why do _we_ have to do this? As Elite Agents, shouldn’t they be the ones to handle it?”  
Marie asked while taking a sip from her milkshake

“As implied from earlier, these two are currently prohibited from taking missions of this caliber until the time they are prepared, the same way you once were.”  
Isabelle pouted while Nero clicked his tongue to the side after hearing those words.

I remember those days, damn was it boring.

“Wait, so if this is all there is to it, then why have these two come all the way into _our_ headquarters?”  
I said, turning my head towards the chief.

“The Bright Dynasty has always been the type to flaunt off what they have. In a way, you could say that this is sort of a display of trust towards the Golden Lion.”  
The chief responded with a cheerful tone, it’s a surprise to see her with a genuine smile on her face, despite being ever sly, haughty one.

“I see.”

“The mission will begin in three hours, the location is already in the documents that I have provided you.”  
The chief said as she dismissed us.

“I’ll go get my suitcase.”  
I said to Marie before exiting the room.

“Actually won’t be needing those… whatever you call them.”  
The chief interjected while I talked to Marie.

 “You mean my specialized guns?”

“Not quite the appropriate term, but yes.”  
_Don’t you get technical with me_

“You will be provided with these, they’re called Agony and Misery.”   
The chief answered, presenting a black case with the two guns, one silver, the other, black.

“Those are some pretty sadistic names for ornate handguns. Besides, what’s wrong with my old guns?”

“Misery acts as both Thunder Dancer and Ion, capable of generating direct energy outputs, as well as a powerful bolt of electricity, depending on which one you set it to.”  
She said as she put the white one into my hand.

“Meanwhile Agony is a top break, rapid fire handgun, capable of using normal, as well as hollow rounds. It is made from adamantine, which means you should be able to deflect bullets with this when you’re in blue mode. Unlike your old guns, these are much more powerful and more efficient.”  
The chief said with a smirk as she put the case in my hands.

Marie nodded and left while I examined the guns. I was about to leave the smoke filled room after a minor inspection, but before I could reach the knob, the chief asked me to stop and wait as she lit another cigarette.

“And Felix… Before you go.”

“Yes… chief?  
Felix waited. The streams of sunlight from the chief’s window had brought a deep shadow on Felix’s face.

“I apologize. It was insensitive of me to have said such a thing. Do not hold this against me.”

“…”  
I paused, I couldn’t respond. The chief wasn’t directly involved, and it’s illogical to think about the things that could have been but…

“ _Do not hold this against me, huh?_ ”   
Felix whispered the chief’s words under his breath, asking and tightening his grip on the handle of the black case with his head lowered.  
“Is this an order?”

 “No, it’s a request.”  
The chief asked sincerely.

A slight pause came before I could reply. My hand reached the knob, but I didn’t have enough strength to even turn it. My chest grew tighter.  
_Why should I even care? Those kids were strangers. I didn’t know any of them. I don’t care._

“Heh, if you leave that kind of decision to me… Then I’m not so sure I’ll be able to do that”  
Felix’s reply shook nervously.

“Hmph… Very well. I understand. Now, prepare for your mission.”  
The chief answered taking a drag from her cigarette, closing her eyes.

“Yes, chief.”  
The door creaked as Felix exited the room. The stream of light that seeped through the door turned into the darkness with a heavy thump.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1-4 were made a year ago (4 years ago if we want to get technical), but I did update them recently
> 
> Chapter 5 onwards are the ones more consistently timely made ones, so my writing style may be a little different I forgot to note.


End file.
